Changeable exhibitor



Aug. 4, 1925.

. 1,548,234 J. L. WORTHAM OHANGEABLE EXHIBITOR Filed April 19, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l ZNVENTOR- Jesse L, 14 7 ,47' Tins.

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J. L. WQRTHAM CHANGEABLE EXHIBITOR Filed April 19, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Avnwroe Js'se L. Marl n/r2 Mwass- Patented Aug. 4, 1925.

UNITED STATES JESSE L. WORTHAM, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

GHANGEABLE EXHIBITOR.

Application filed April 19, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Jesse L. WVORTHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rockford, in the county of l/Vinneb-ago and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Changeable Exhibitors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to card, picture and sign exhibiting, and has more particular reference to motor-operated changeable exhibitors especially adapted for displaying cards containing advertising inatterand the like.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a device of this character adapted to be placed in store windows or on counters or similar places and to be operatedcontinuously for successively displaying a series of cards containing advertising matter. 1 have aimed to so construct this device that it may be produced at a comparatively low cost and will comprise such few parts so constructed and arranged as to operate continuously without danger of getting out of order or requiring attention for repair. Y

I have further aimed to make the display cards easily accessible and removable, thus permitting the cards to be chan ed by an unskilled person and without the aid of tools.

In furtherance of the foregoing, my invention contemplates the provision of an endless track on which the cards or cardcarriers are supported at all times, and a continuously driven, endless chain-carrier, which together with the track is arranged in a novel manner promoting compactness, simplicity and positiveness in action, the endless carrier being adapted to move the cards on the track from one position or station to another and constituting the sole power-driven means for moving or actuating the cards. By employing only these mechanical eXpedients, namely an endless track and an endless carrier and co-operating parts for guiding and'moving the cards, I have simplified and improved structures of this general character as will be seen more clearly hereinafter.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated by those skilled in this art as the invention becomes better understood by reference tothe following descrip- Serial No. 633,064.

tion when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a changeable exhibitor embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the device taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section and side view, respectively of one of the card-carrier actuating links of the chain;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views taken substantially on the lines H and 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken on the line 7-7 of Fig.2; and Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

The cards to be displayed, designated generally by 11, will be of predetermined size, according to the general proportions of the device or machine as will be presently apparent. Each card will be attached to or carried by an individual holder or carrier which may be of any suitable construction, and preferably one that permits easy removal of the card so that it may be replaced by another having different advertising matter. In the present instance, each card is inserted at its lower edge 12 between the opposed sides of a holder, designated generally by 13, which is loosely hinged at 14 on a rod 15, which in turn is equipped at each end with a roller 16. The cards maybe detachably secured or fastened to the holders by any suitable means, such for example as pliable fasteners 17 plainly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. Each card-holder has opposed ends 18 projecting beyond the roller 16 and adapted to be engaged and operated upon by links of an endless chain which will be presently described.

The card-holders are carried by endless tracks, one at each end of the holders and upon or with which the rollers 16 are continuously engaged. The track structure at each side of the cardholders is similar, con sequently a description of one will suffice. As shown in Fig. 2, an inner and an outer track surface 19 and 21 respectively, is provided by corresponding castings 22 and 23 held in rigid relation by brackets 24:. These castings are shaped to provide a track hav ing a horizontally disposed lower and an upper portion 25 and 26, respectively, the latter being inclined slightly in a downward and a forward direction, and a front and a rear portion 27 and 28 inclined downwardly and forwardly from the upper track portion. The tracks are held in rigid spaced relation by suitable means, such as tie-rods 29.

The card holders are normally supported on the upper portion 26 of the track in close, touching relation, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. with the foremostcard-holder 31 in the display position. In this position, the rollers 18 of the card holder are disposed in recesscs 32 at the forward end of the upper track portions and thus held against movement lengthwise of the track, and the card is inclined backwardly"againstthe stack of cards. which byreason of the sizeof the holders, assume the position shown. The rear end of each, upper track portion is slightly raised at 33 so as to retain'the rearmost holder from slipping back into the inclined portion 28 of the track. Each outer track casting 23 is cut away above the upper track portion as at 34:, to permit removal of the card-holders, and in the present in stance this gap is closed by a filler piece 35, which is suspended in position by ends 36 over-reaching the casting 23 and retained against sidewise displacement by upstanding lugs 37. It will be manifest that by reason of this construction any card-holder may be easily removed for the purpose of changing cards.

Two similar endless chains or carriers, one ateach side of the device are employed for removing the foremost card-holder from the display position, from which it will drop to a lowermost position, carrying the cardholder from this position to the back of the stack of cards and for advancing the entire stack to move the foremost card to the display position. These chains are power drivenand move continuously and constitute the sole means for operating or actuating the card-holders, and consequently, they operate the card-holders in predetermined timed relation. Each chain designated generally by 38, is trained over sprocket wheels 39, 41, 5 .2 and 43, in this instance journaled on the outer side of one of the castings 22 on the corner thereof. Each chain has four equally spaced, outwardly projecting lugs ist adapted to over-reach the ends 18 of the cardholders for moving them along its respective track. These lugs are not, however, in op crative relation to the cardholders during the entire course of their travel, but are withdrawn from the holders immediately after leaving the sprocket wheels 43 and are not return ed until brought into operative relation with such holders by the sprocket wheels 39. In other words, the chains follow the course of the traclcways in close proximity thereto, except for the upper portion 26 of the traclcways, where the chains are removed or directed in a course remote from and out of co-operative relation with such upper track portions. In the present instance, this result is attained by the provision of a pulley 45 on each casting 22 be and in the present instance, I employ an electric motor 48 which drives a jack shaft 49 through the agency of worm and wheel gearing 51, and a sprocket wheel and chain connection 52 between said shaft 49 and a shaft 50 to which the sprocket wheels 43 are fixed.

Suitable means is provided for guiding the cards while they are being moved by the chains from the lowermost position above mentioned, to the elevated position at which they are returned to the hack of the stack of cards. This guide means in the present instance consists of a sheet metal wall or the equivalent, designated generally by 53, disposed between the tracks and reaching from the point 54 rearwardly along the bottom of the device, then upwardly at the rear of and following in generalthe inclination of the rear track portion 28, and then curvin upwardly and forwardly as at 55 and terminating at the point 56.

The foregoing structure may be mounted on a suitable base 57 and inolosed in a cabinet 58 of any suitable design or construction, having a window 59 through which the cards are displayed. The cabinet may be opened in any suitable manner for re moval of the card-holders and access to the operating parts, and in the present instance, the entire cabinet may be lifted from the base to which it is normally secured by fastening screws 61. i

The operation is as follows: Viewing Fig. 2 and assuming that the motor is running, the chains 38 will be moved. continuously in counter-clockwise direction. It will also be assumed that the lugs 44 on the chain 38 on the far side of the machine are in the same relative position as those shown. It will now be observed that the ends 18 of the card-holder in the display position are disposed in the path of the lugs 4st and that one set of these lugs has just been brought 'into contact with said projecting" ends 18.

the recesses 32, thuscarrying said rollers into the inclined track portions 27, permitting the card holder to instantly drop and expose the next succeeding card to the display window. The fall of the card holder is cushioned to a considerable degree by the inclination of the trackportions 27, thus practically eliminating noise and shock which might otherwise be occasioned by an abrupt fall. The card-holder in its fall will, however, advance beyond the slowly moving chain lugs and the upper end of the card will describe an are indicated approximately by the dotted line 62; thus the holder will assume a position at rest at the bot-tom of the device with the card in the horizontally disposed position indicated by 63. The holder will remain in this position until moved rearwardly by the lugs 44; and it will be manifest that during this rearward movement the card will be guided by the wall 53 and brought to an upright position, and upon approaching the upper end of the rear portion 28 of the track, will be swung forwardly onto the stack of cards by reason of the forward curvature 55 of the card guide. the raised point 33 at the entrance to the horizontal track portion, the next preceding lug A l will remove the foremost card-holder in the manner described above. The lugs which have just positioned the card holder at the back of the stack will then advance the entire stack sufficiently to carry the rollers of the foremost card-holder into the track incline 64 leading to the depression 18, thus feeding this card holder to the display position. This operation is continuous, the foremost card being removed from the stack at predetermined intervals and the stack being advanced for positioning the cards in succession in such display position.

Attention is directed to the fact that the card-holders are carried on or guidedby an endless track structure and are moved intermittently by acontinuously moving endless carrier, at present comprising a pair of chains, that these chains are guided so that their holder-actuating lugs move into and out of the path of the card-holders so as not to actuate the latter during a display period. Thus, no complicated mechanism is required for operating upon or actuating the holders at different stages in their cycle of movement, but instead, a simple and positively acting endless track and a carrier structure are employed for guiding and moving the card-holders and for regulating and timing the changing of cards. These features contribute toward compactness and simplicity in construction, and provide a device which will operate continuously with little chance or cause to get out of order.

It should be understood that the foregoing device may be embodied in various sizes As the card-holder is carried over suited for different advertising requirements and that in the manufacture of such devices, the parts may be made of such shape, sizes and materials as are best suited or found desirable for the purpose. Consequently, various changes might be made in the construction and design without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as eX- pressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising a plurality of card-holders, an endless track structure on which the card-holders travel or are supported at all times, and an endless, continuously moving carrier structure in proximity to the path of said track structure except at a portion thereof supporting a stack of card-holders and having lugs for removing the first cardholder from the stack at timed intervals, continuously moving one or more card-holders along the track structure, and moving each card-holder in succession to the back of the stack and intermittently advancing the stack bodily on said track structure.

2. A changeable exhibitor comprising a plurality of card-holders, an endless track structure on which the card-holders travel or are supported at all times and having a portion adapted for supporting a stack of said card-holders with the foremost cardholder in a stationary display position, the track structure being recessed for receiving and holding said card-holder in said position, and an endless, continuously moving carrier for removing the card-holder from said position and subsequently moving it along the track structure to a position at the back of said stack.

3. A changeable exhibitor of the charac ter described comprising a plurality of cardholders, an endless track at each end of the card-holders upon which they are guided at all times, said tracks providing a horizontally disposed top and a bottom portion joined by upright portions, the front upright portion being inclined forwardly and downwardly from the top portion, said top portion being adapted to carry a stack of card-holders with the foremost holder in a stationary display position, and means for moving said foremost card-holder from said display position into said inclined track portion whereby said holder will drop instantly and be cushioned in its fall by the inclined track, and for subsequently moving said card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the top track portion at the rear of said stack.

4:. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising a plurality of cardholders, an endless track at each end of the card-holders upon which they are guided at all times, said tracks providinga horizontally disposed top and a bottom portion joined by upright portions, the front upright portion being inclined forwardly and downwardly from the top portion, said top portion being adapted to carry a stack of card-holders with the foremost holder in a stationary display position, and means for moving said foremost card-holder from said display position into said inclined track portion whereby said holder will drop instantly and be cushioned in its fall by the inclined track, and for subsequently moving said card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the top track portion at the rear of said stack, saidmeans comprising an endless chain adjacent to each track, following the path thereof except at the top portion where each chain is withdrawn inwardly from the track, each chain being equipped with lugs for positively engaging the foremost card-holder and moving it from its display position into said inclined track and for positively moving each card-holder onto therear of the top track portion and thereby forwardly advancing the stack. f

V 5. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising .an endless track structure, a plurality of cardholders adapted to be supported thereon in a stack with the foremost card-holder in a stationery display posit-ion, each card-holder adapted to be guided on saidtrack structure through a complete cycle from said display position to the rear of the stack and thence to said display position, and an endless, continu- 'ouslymo-ving carrier following in general less track structure, a plurality of cardholders adapted to be supported in a stack on said track structure with the foremost card-holder in a stationary display position and adapted to be guided by said track structure to a position at the rear of said stack, and an endless chain at each side of the card-holders following in general the path of the track structure exceptbeing removed therefrom opposite the portion occupied by the stack of card-holders and having a plurality of actuating lugs adapted to engage and remove the cardholder from the display position and to carry it along said track to the rear of said stack and-t0 advance the stack of card-holders-on the track structure.

7. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising an endless track structure having a lower horizontall disposed portion, upwardly andrearwar ly inclined front and rear portions respectively, and an upper portion joining said front and rear portions, a plurality of card-holders disposed on said upper portion with the foremost card-holder in a stationary display position, and an endless, continuously moving carrier following in general the path of said endless track structure but being removed therefrombelow the upper portion thereof and having means for removing the card-holders in succession from the display position, moving the card-holders along the track structure to the rear of said stack and for advancing the stack along the upper portion of said track structure.

8. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising a plurality of card-holders, each equipped at each end with a roller, an endless track structure for the rollers at each end of the card-holders, each track structure having an inner and an outer track surface, said track structure having a horizontally disposed upper portion adapted for carrying a stack of card-holders with the foremost card-holder in a stationary display position, an endless chain in juxtaposition to each track at each end of the card-holders having lugs adapted for moving the cardholders in succession from the display position, said track structure being inclined forwardly and downwardly from said position for guiding the roller end of each cardholder in its fall and permitting the up er end of thecard-holder to drop rearwar 1y, said projections on the chain adaptedfor engaging said fallen card-holder and m0ving it rearwardly and upwardly along the track structure to the rear of the stack, and means for guiding the card-holder during this movement. 7

9. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising a plurality of card holders, an endless track at each end of the card-holders, each track having a horizontally disposed top and a bottom portion, and a forward and a rear portion respectively inclined forwardly and downwardly from the top portion, said top portion adapted for carrying a stack of card-holders,.means for releasably holdingrthe foremost card-holder of each stack in a stationary display. position, a chain wheel at each corner of the respective tracks, a chain trained over each set of said wheels, means for continuously driving the chains so that their upper reaches moves tothe front, projections on the chains adapted for engaging the card-holders for moving them along the tracks, and means for withdrawing the upper reach of each chain from the cardholder's on the upper track portion, and for causing said projections to successively move the foremost card-holder forward from said display position into the front inclined track portion, permitting the card-holder so removed to gravitate to the bottom track portion and be subsequently picked up by the chain lugs, and for causing the next succeeding lugs to move its cardholder ontothe upper track portion and feed the stack of card-holders forwardly thereon, thereby advancing the foremost cardholder to the display position.

10. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising an endless track having a top and a bottom horizontally disposed portion joined by a front and a back portion inclined upwardly and rearwardly, a plurality of cardholders supported on the top track portion with the foremost holder in a stationary display position, an endless chain at each track having lugs for detachable connection with the adjacent end of the respective card-holders at predetermined times, means for moving the chain continu ously so that the front reaches travel downwardly along the front inclined track port-ion, said chains being adapted to move the card-holder from the display position into said front inclined track portion allowing the card-holder to fall and be cushioned thereby, said chains serving tomove the fallen card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the top track portion at the rear of the stack, and guide means for holding the fallen card holder in a horizontally disposed position during the travel along the bottom track portion and for guiding said holder to an upright position during its travel along the back track portions.

11. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising in combination an endless track havin a top and a bottom horizontally disposed portion joined by a front and a back upwardly and rearwardly inclined portion, a plurality of card-holders guided on said track and adapted to be supported in a stack on the top track portion which is recessed to hold the foremost card-holder in a stationary display position, an endless continuously moving chain for positively removing said foremost cardholder from said recess and moving it into the front track whereby this card-holder will fall instantly and be cushioned by the incline of said front track portion, and said chain functioning to subsequently move said fallen card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the top track portion at the back of said stack.

12. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising in combination an endless track having a top and a bottom horizontally disposed portion joined by a front and a back upwardly and rearwardly inclined portion, a plurality of card-holders guided on said track and adapted to be supported in a stack on the top track portion which is recessed to hold the foremost card holder in a stationary display position, an endless continuously moving chain for positively removing said foremost card-holder from said recess and moving it into the front track whereby this card-holder will fall instantly and be cushioned by the incline of said front track portion, and said chain functioning to subsequently move said fallen card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the top track portion at the back of said stack, and guide means for maintaining the fallen cardholder in a horizontally disposed position during its travel along the bottom track portion and for raising said holder to a vertieally disposed position prior to its entrance onto the top track portion.

13. i1 changeable exhibitor of the char ter described comprising in combination an endless track having a top and a bottom horizontally disposed portion joined by a front and a back portion the former of which is inclined upwardly and rearwardly, a plurality of card-holders guided on said tr ck and held in a stack on the top track portion with the foremost holder held in a stationary display position by a recess in the track, and means for moving said foremost card-holder from said recess and into the front track portion so that it will instantly fall and be cushioned by the incline of said track portion, and for moving said fallen card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the rear end of the top track portion.

14;. A changeable exhibitor of the character described comprising in combination an endless track having a top and a bottom horizontally disposed portion joined by a front and a back portion the former of which is inclined forwardly and rearwardly, a plurality of card-holders guided on said track and held in a stack on the top track portion with the foremost holder held in a stationary display position by a recess in the track, means for moving said foremost card-holder from said recess and into the front track portion so that it will instantly fall and be cushioned by the incline of said track portion and for moving said fallen card-holder along the bottom and back track portions and onto the rear end of the top track portion, and means for guiding the fallen card-holder in a horizontally disposed position during its travel along the bottom track portion and for guiding it to an upright position and tilting its upper end forwardly so that it assumes a forwardly inclined position after being delivered onto the rear of the top track.

JESSE L. l JORTHAM. 

